Thursday, July 9, 2015

WEEK 54--Finding Windmill, Bottles & Temple.....

This week's column is more of a walk about than Amsterdam craft-spotting---as i did not visit many bars--it was more of going on own pace according to mood and weather....

finding MOLENYES...taking photo in front of a windmill is probably categorized as a "must do" for many a tourists who happened to visit Holland...I did too--but it cannot be just any windmill---but specifically That one located some 50 odd minutes away by train from Amsterdam, to a small town called Bodegraven---the reason is obvious--that's where De Molen is housed.

"Finding Molen" was not that easy nor hard--it's under 10 minutes walk( lesser if you a runner)--to the Left side of the small train station( with your back against it)--walk along the road---and you shall see THAT windmill at the end of a small road(you will first see the modern de molen building--which is the brewery just steps away from the old windmill building where it all started some 10 years+ ago...)

bumped into Kevin the brewer at the new brew location( pleasure to have finally met)---at the old windmill where a restaurant--bar--bottle shop can be found---there's a bunch of enthusiastic brewers from nearby town ship discussing and going through hops,yeasts... and more( with help given by another Molen's brewer)....it's almost like a mini workshop going on....all while visitors like me and others enjoying the sight with some food, what's on taps and the surreal feeling of sitting inside the windmill that's Molen....

the bottle shop within the building--you don't want to miss it--you will find more than just De Molen's own beers--but the best part is the way the bottles were priced--you will immediately sense it--that this is a sharing place---if you know how some bottle shops in other parts of the world is pricing some beers--you will know what it meant to have found a bottle shop like this one....

De BierKoningOne of the most famous bottle shops across Europe.Place is not huge-but the selection is more than enough for geeks to search high and low( literally---there's a sort of mezzanine floor and lower ground floor--so to speak).

It's definitely a place where treasure can be found--i did--and by the way--one of the beer i found( Dileverance by The Lost Abbey) was not on the main display shelve but sort of "hidden" on a little corner--as if it was redundant or surplus bottle...:)

I went searching for some American brews--hence Beer Temple--yes--this is the bar to be if you a sucker for US brew---one of the things about this place is they do sell different vintages of DARK LORD by Three Floyds---yes--obviously you have to pay quite a fat amount in Euro--if you so fancy. ( i did not).

Amsterdam---with so many different craft beer places( breweries, brewpub, bars, bottle shop....) --the question would be ....Do you have enough TIME?